Depending on where you are and who you’re talking to, most informed hockey fans would identify the Toronto Maple Leafs as the best young team in the NHL.

True, you might get an argument in Winnipeg or New Jersey. And if this survey was conducted in the GTA, those informed fans would identify the Leafs as the best team — like, ever — irrespective of age.

But, gratuitous Toronto snark aside, the collection of talent on Mike Babcock’s team speaks for itself. They lead the NHL in goals. Four of their top seven scorers are 23 or under, led by the sublime Auston Matthews. Maybe the complete game isn’t there yet, but the parts are in place for this Leafs’ team to remain at or near the top of the NHL’s food chain for the next decade.

And then there’s your Vancouver Canucks.

Saturday night, the Leafs’ annual visit to the rain forest came in all its familiar glory. There was the annoying 4 p.m. start. There were the masses in Leafs’ jerseys. There were the chants of Go Leafs Go, and let it be known the Canucks scored the all-important first goal to take the crowd out the game.

But, for the first time in a while, this meeting was notable for reasons other than the crowd and the start time. The Canucks, as it happens, finally seem to have turned a corner and are building their own young core. They’re not really in the conversation concerning the NHL’s good young teams just yet, but they are trending that way.

So how did they measure up against the NHL’s gold standard in their 2-1 win? How did the Canucks’ kids look against the Leafs’ young thoroughbreds?

Well, Alex Edler had himself a helluva game.

Vancouver Canucks’ goalie Jacob Markstrom makes a save against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the third period of Saturday’s game at Rogers Arena.DARRYL DYCK /
THE CANADIAN PRESS

“We knew they’re a strong deep team with a lot of talented young players,” said Ben Hutton, the Canucks’ 24-year-old defenceman.

“This game was huge for guys in our locker-room.

“We’ve got a lot of young guys on our team who have been stepping up this year. When we match up against another young team and come out on top, it shows we’re in the process of becoming a very strong team.”

In truth, any attempt to bill this one has a matchup between the Leafs’ and Canucks’ young guns would be a stretch so severe it could result in a groin pull. The Canucks won this one because of a lights-out goaltending performance from Jacob Markstrom, Edler’s best game since the Stephen Harper administration and, truth be told, a little puck luck around their goalie.

Want a stat? The Canucks were outshot 25-9 over the final two periods after a dominating first.

“I didn’t think our last 40 was good enough,” said Daniel Sedin. “They really pushed the pace in the last two periods.”

Still, half the Canucks’ skaters on this night were 25 or under, and their fingerprints were all over this game. Bo Horvat was matched against Matthews most of the night and ended up plus-one over 18 minutes. Markus Granlund, 24, opened the scoring. Young D-men Derrick Pouliot (21:53 of ice), Troy Stecher and Hutton held their own.

OK, Brock Boeser didn’t exactly support this storyline. The Canucks’ 20-year-old sniper had a quiet night, and his most visible moment came late in the third when his bid at an empty net was swatted out of the air by that man Matthews.

But this theme is going to be central to any Canucks’ game this season, or the next two, three seasons come to think of it, and any a win against a quality opponent in a nationally televised game for this team is significant.

“Everyone knows what kind of young talent they have,” Horvat said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game, a fast game. I thought we responded well tonight.

“It gives our group confidence knowing we can hang with teams like that and match their speed. A couple of times they took it to us, but I liked our first period.”

Toronto Maple Leafs’ Connor Brown, left, and Vancouver Canucks’ Derrick Pouliot battle for position while skating during the third period of Saturday’s game at Rogers Arena.DARRYL DYCK /
THE CANADIAN PRESS

The Canucks’ opening 20 minutes, in fact, might have been their best period of the season. In their first game after a six-game roadie, the home side produced 17 shots on Freddie Andersen in the Leafs’ net, scored twice, and were dangerous for most of the frame.

The Canucks’ defence produced nine shots on Andersen in that period. Edler also scored his first goal of the season and didn’t break his stick in the process.

The final two periods, alas, weren’t as impressive as the Canucks retreated into a craven defensive posture. But there was still a crackling atmosphere in the building, still plenty of drama, and, in the end, two points.

“Growing up, I wasn’t a fan of the Leafs,” said Hutton, an Ontario kid from the Ottawa bedroom community of Prescott.

“I’m still not. It’s in my blood. So it’s a big bonus when you get two points against Toronto.”

Hutton was asked if the disproportionate number of Leafs’ fans in the building bothered him.

“No, it’s fun,” he said. “You’ve got the ‘Go Leafs Go’ chants and the Canucks’ fans fire back with ‘Leafs Suck.’ That brings the atmosphere up and we hear it. Like I said, it’s fun.”